Qatar, emerging foodie capital in Middle East

The ‘World Class Chefs’ initiative will play a key role in positioning the country as a foodie capital in the Middle East, and further boosting its tourism industry,” Qatar Tourism COO Berthold Trenkel has said.“We’re bringing chefs to Qatar and that will help us to grow tourism and the whole food scene in Qatar,” he told reporters during the recent launch of the programme at Mandarin Oriental Doha.The two-year initiative, organised by Qatar Tourism in collaboration with Qatar Airways, Qatar Aircraft Catering company, and Kings of Kitchen, aims to host high-profile chefs from various regions globally and explore investment opportunities by introducing the world’s top culinary talent to the emerging hub of gastronomy in the region.About 50 renowned chefs from different regions, including India, Switzerland, France, the UK, Italy, and China, among other cities and destinations, have so far expressed interest to participate in the initiative.“This is not a short thing, we really want to really grow this, it is amazing when you look around the region there is no one who has established themselves as in being the foodie capital so there is a chance for Qatar if we step this up.“We become the place when people think about the Middle East, think about food, and they think about Qatar. That is the end goal where we want to go,” Trenkel pointed out.He said the initiative will also put a spotlight on local Qatari talents and their partnership with international chefs, providing an opportunity to showcase an array of dishes.“There are endless opportunities, I think I can scratch now the surface on what we can do and the amazing thing is that we got the approval from our chairman to do this from now until way after the (2022 FIFA) World Cup,” Trenkel added.The launch of World Class Chefs witnessed Michelin Star chef Julian Roucheteau presenting a signature dish, and will be holding live demo of delectable dishes at exclusive 'Chef’s Table' sessions until October 30 at IZU restaurant, Mandarin Oriental, Doha at Msheireb Downtown, between 6pm and 8pm and from 8.30pm to 10pm.“First this will help all of us, because new chefs, new food, will come here and I hope the locals will like it. Then we bring also more chefs into the (Qatar International) Food Festival…. they will do cooking classes and things like that.“Beyond that I think there is a business opportunity because we have so many new hotels that are under construction and all of them need chefs,” Trenkel said.